Poll: Which Next Gen Console will you buy? - Final version (honest!)

[Audigex]

PS4 for me.

Almost identical hardware, PS4 is significantly cheaper - I can only assume that the difference is the price of the Kinect which I have zero interest in.

Add in the fact that I felt like MS were taking the **** with their original rules, lack of Indy development etc and I feel like expressing, using my wallet, that I don't want to be taken for a mug. They can backtrack all they want, but the fact they tried it on in the first place is enough of a reason for me to skip them this generation.

PS4 doesn't have as many launch titles or exclusives, but GTA5 and CoD are my staples and are on both, and WarThunder is PS4 only.

 

[Macro]

They could just have it so if you aren't online you can't play games on the family sharing plan. I don't think that's unfair considering you won't have paid for the game in the first place.

I suspect that's what it will look like when it inevitably comes back (let's face it, they've said as much). I just suspect at the time they were too far down the line both technically and in negotiating rights with devs/publishers to be able to unpick the whole thing quickly enough to reintegrate in time for launch. Better to pull it all, give it some breathing space and work out how to bring the best bits back in a sensible way that works for devs/publishers and customers.

Xbox does one or two updates a year on 360 so it wouldn't surprise me if we see family & friends sharing library back in the Spring update. It could be a significant feature, in particular for the more casual gamers who don't want, need or indeed can afford to buy every single game.

Interesting to see the steam model announced seems to suggest the XO family sharing library was full versions of games and not time limited 15min demos as some suggested.

 

[biron_w]

It's nowhere near as clear cut and easy as you seem to think it is.

I'm aware of that. But the fact that MS have said that it might come back means there must be a way to do it. I don't have the skills or knowledge how to make it work but I'm sure that the people who work in this industry will know how to sort it out.

Interesting to see the steam model announced seems to suggest the XO family sharing library was full versions of games and not time limited 15min demos as some suggested.

I've just read an article on it saying that the with the Steam method if somebody is playing a game in your library then you can't access ANY of your other games.

However, there is a serious downside to this system, in that only one person can gain access to a given account’s library at any one time. If Geoff shares his account with Steve, and Steve plays Geoff’s copy of CoD: Ghosts, then Geoff cannot play any of the other games in his library without then forcing Steve out.

Sauce

 

[Macro]

I'm aware of that. But the fact that MS have said that it might come back means there must be a way to do it. I don't have the skills or knowledge how to make it work but I'm sure that the people who work in this industry will know how to sort it out.



I've just read an article on it saying that the with the Steam method if somebody is playing a game in your library then you can't access ANY of your other games.

Sauce

Hmmm, the blurb on Steam sort of suggests it's just the game that's being played the person borrowing the game gets logged out of after 15mins although I suppose it could be interpreted as the whole library (although that seems unlikely)..

When I authorize a device to lend my library to others, do I limit my own ability to access and play my games?

As the lender, you may always access and play your games at any time. If you decide to start playing when a friend is already playing one of your games, he/she will be given a few minutes to either purchase the game or quit playing.

 

[Davey_Pitch]

I'm aware of that. But the fact that MS have said that it might come back means there must be a way to do it. I don't have the skills or knowledge how to make it work but I'm sure that the people who work in this industry will know how to sort it out.

I'm sure they can sort it out, but you said they removed the feature out of spite. While that's possible, it's more likely that in order to keep the sharing feature in, while also not bringing back the more restrictive policies that people hated in the first place, it would take them a good deal of time to sort out, time they don't have while also finalising everything else ahead of the console launch. That's probably why they'll wait a while before going back to it, they want to get the system running as smoothly as possible, then they can spend the time looking at how to bring sharing back in a way that won't annoy everyone!

 

[Davey_Pitch]

Hmmm, the blurb on Steam sort of suggests it's just the game that's being played the person borrowing the game gets logged out of after 15mins although I suppose it could be interpreted as the whole library (although that seems unlikely)..

I actually read that passage to mean that if a friend is playing any of your games, he'll need to log out when you want to gain access to your own games library.

If that's the case, the way MS proposed to do it (allegedly, to keep the whiners at bay) would actually have worked better.

 

[Adsta]

Off topic but...I dont understand how the below quote can be misinterpreted in anyway

Originally Posted by steam site
When I authorize a device to lend my library to others, do I limit my own ability to access and play my games?

As the lender, you may always access and play your games at any time. If you decide to start playing when a friend is already playing one of your games, he/she will be given a few minutes to either purchase the game or quit playing.

You own the game as the "lender" (ala you). If your family member/friend is playing a game of yours and you log in. Your family member or friend is given a choice to either buy the game they are "borrowing" off you or quit the game. So you as a "lender" can access your games.

Back slightly on topic:

Either way can't we just accept MS have 180'd for now on their original policy's. It is what it is and won't be changed again for quite some time in my opinion. They may have been great ideas they might have been terrible ideas know one will fully know because quite frankly MS failed miserably at conveying the ideas to the public.

Sony capitalized on MS's inability to present their ideas. As such Sony got a great "headstart" on the PR war. I mean christ they even managed to get the crowd to stand and clap the idea of charging them to play online

The above might make me sound like a Sony fanboi but I seriously don't care. MS did fail completely with presenting their information.

Although oddly enough I'm looking more forward to getting my XO than I am my PS4

 

[Macro]

The above might make me sound like a Sony fanboi but I seriously don't care.

Actually it sounds evenhanded and perfectly reasonable to me. Absolutely nothing wrong in calling MS (or Sony) out for something they go wrong. The PR and delivery of features was a huge **** up and despite putting a brave face on it they got caught on the hop with GPU specs. I'm sure if they knew 18months ago what they know now they'd have gone with the quicker GPU. I suspect Sony upping their memory from 4 to 8 Gb caught them on the hop a little as well. They gambled on DDR5 memory being expensive and short supply with PS4 sticking to 4Gb so figured 8Gb of DDR3+eSRAM would work out similar to 4Gb DDR5.

I think X1 is actually a really nice bit of kit and I'll have one because I prefer the games/X1 live online experience, and, most of my friends play online on 360 and will be getting X1. I like what they tried to do with some interesting approaches to things to move the platform forward. There's no doubt though they got caught on the hop by Sony this time. X1 with the same GPU & Memory as PS4 could have been an absolute doozy, hindsight is a wonderful thing though. It's a shame, especially as they're locked into this design pretty much for the next 8 years.

Having said that, as I mentioned elsewhere both consoles concern me on power for an 8 year life, they're "ok" now but still lag behind a decent (albeit expensive) PC, I do wonder how they will hold up for that amount of time the speed things are changing. I wonder if MS could do an "X1 Slim" mid life update with an enhanced GPU? Doubtful but you never know.

 

[Shamikebab]

Having said that, as I mentioned elsewhere both consoles concern me on power for an 8 year life, they're "ok" now but still lag behind a decent (albeit expensive) PC, I do wonder how they will hold up for that amount of time the speed things are changing. I wonder if MS could do an "X1 Slim" mid life update with an enhanced GPU? Doubtful but you never know.

So like every console release then? What wizardry did you think MS and Sony were going to do to fit high end PC components in a circa £400 console?

 

[Davey_Pitch]

So like every console release then? What wizardry did you think MS and Sony were going to do to fit high end PC components in a circa £400 console?

From memory both Xbox 360 and PS3 were fairly similar to more top-end PCs when they were released, not mid-level like the next gen will be.

 

[Suarez7]

I'm now contemplating cancelling my XB1 order since I've bought a PS3 bundle with TLoU and GTA V. That and my PC should keep me occupied well into the new year, by that time more titles will be out for both consoles as well as some better bundles/deals. I'll leave it on pre-order for now but can see me cancelling closer to the date.

 

[Macro]

Works the other way round for me - I say I won't get one on release and every time by release date I'm desperately trying to find one. I'm such a sucker for new tech

 

[Macro]

From memory both Xbox 360 and PS3 were fairly similar to more top-end PCs when they were released, not mid-level like the next gen will be.

Indeed. I guess that's why in essence MS and Sony lost money on the current gen consoles for the first few years and then gradually made some later in the life cycle. This time I think they have both looked to make money or break even on the hardware from day one hence slightly less high end hardware in the box. I'd have love to have seen MS use some of the profits from elsewhere to help them cram the absolutely latest leading edge stuff into the X1 making it much more powerful than they look to be now. Unfortunately anti competition laws and the DOJ seem to take a very dim view of using profits from one area of the business to give you an unfair advantage in another, otherwise even with current "next gen" machines MS could have afforded to sell it at £249 on release just to grab market share.

 

[Thesnipergecko]

I'm not sure I will be upgrading my PC again for a few years now.

I wan't to try and get away from being sat at a desk on my own playing a game and spend more time gaming with the misus.

 

[XeNoN89]

We asked him whether other developers will be using the extra GDDR5 RAM and more GPU compute to churn better exclusive and multiplatform games on the PS4, to which he replied:
“Definitely. In this generation PS4 seems to be the console with fewest quirks – no embedded DRAM. Just raw power. Sony’s signature low-level graphics API may leave some developers with bloodied knuckles but also gives access to a lot more of its potential. This time PCs and consoles have more in common than ever before, making multiplatform easier, but this time people will ramp up effects for PS4.”

http://gamingbolt.com/resogun-dev-p...gpu-will-result-in-better-multiplatform-games

Thanks gaf


in b4 Macro

 

[msmalls74]

Actually it sounds evenhanded and perfectly reasonable to me. Absolutely nothing wrong in calling MS (or Sony) out for something they go wrong. The PR and delivery of features was a huge **** up and despite putting a brave face on it they got caught on the hop with GPU specs. I'm sure if they knew 18months ago what they know now they'd have gone with the quicker GPU. I suspect Sony upping their memory from 4 to 8 Gb caught them on the hop a little as well. They gambled on DDR5 memory being expensive and short supply with PS4 sticking to 4Gb so figured 8Gb of DDR3+eSRAM would work out similar to 4Gb DDR5.

I think X1 is actually a really nice bit of kit and I'll have one because I prefer the games/X1 live online experience, and, most of my friends play online on 360 and will be getting X1. I like what they tried to do with some interesting approaches to things to move the platform forward. There's no doubt though they got caught on the hop by Sony this time. X1 with the same GPU & Memory as PS4 could have been an absolute doozy, hindsight is a wonderful thing though. It's a shame, especially as they're locked into this design pretty much for the next 8 years.

Having said that, as I mentioned elsewhere both consoles concern me on power for an 8 year life, they're "ok" now but still lag behind a decent (albeit expensive) PC, I do wonder how they will hold up for that amount of time the speed things are changing. I wonder if MS could do an "X1 Slim" mid life update with an enhanced GPU? Doubtful but you never know.

BIB I dont know how at this point anyone can truly know, this is one side we havent seen much from either console apart from staged videos. The biggest issue with PSN was a) no headsets b) no party chat C) no cross game chat. All of these problems have now been fixed/implemented even as much as the cross game chat can be between Vita and PS4.

 

[Plainsong]

It would be better to argue about all this gfx malarky after we've actually seen and played some content.

Though even then it still won't matter.

 

[Hostile_18]

To put it in some perspective how many more times powerful was the PS3 to the PS2? We know the PS4 is 12 times more powerful than the PS3.. which seems to me to be a hell of a lot .

 

[Suarez7]

To put it in some perspective how many more times powerful was the PS3 to the PS2? We know the PS4 is 12 times more powerful than the PS3.. which seems to me to be a hell of a lot .

Especially when you take into account how good they got games like The Last of Us looking on PS3 hardware. I really wish they would optimize PC games as well as consoles, top end PC hardware is capable of so much more.

 

[Nimdok]

Especially when you take into account how good they got games like The Last of Us looking on PS3 hardware. I really wish they would optimize PC games as well as consoles, top end PC hardware is capable of so much more.

I guess that's the advantage of a bespoke system, would be incredible if they could churn out the same level of performance from 6+ year old PC hardware.